Target throwing device having automatically varying target throwing angles

ABSTRACT

A target launching device that as a target throwing arm that is held in a cocked position during the oscillation of the throwing arm. A control device is used to engage and disengage the drive mechanism that is used to oscillate the throwing arm. A sun gear is drivingly connected to the motor, the planetary gears and the interrupter gear. The interrupter gear is rotatable and interrupts for a short period of time the operation of the control device so that the drive mechanism ceases to operate, resulting in the stopping of the oscillation of the throwing arm.

United States Patent 1191 Foster 1111' 3,821,945 51 Jul 2,1974

[54] TARGET THROWING DEVICE HAVING 9/1929 Carothers 124/9 AUTOMATICALLY VARYING TARGET 1,880,292 10/1932 Sutcliffe 124/9 2,063,284 12/1936 Winans 124/9 THROWING ANGLES 2,666,424 1/1954 Foster 124/9 [75] Inventor: Harry Clark Foster, East Alton, I11, 3,612,025 10/1971 Rhodes 124/9 [73] Assignee: glin Corporation, New Haven, Primary Examiner Amon 0' Oechsle Assistant Examiner-William R. Browne [22] Filed: Nov. 6, 1972 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Donald R. Motsko; H. Sam- {211 Appl No: 303,752 uel Kieser; W1ll1am W. Jones Related US. Application Data ABSTRACT A [63] Continuation of r. N 57,20 July 22, 1970, A target launching device that as a target throwing abandoned. arm that is held in a cocked position during the oscillation of the throwing arm. A control device is used to [52] US. Cl 124/9, 124/36, 124/43, engage and disengage the drive mechanism that is 124/32 used to oscillate the throwing arm. A sun gear is driv- [51] Int. Cl. F4lb 3/04 ingly connected to the motor, the planetary gears and [58] Field of Search 124/9, 8, 36, 43, 30 R, the interrupter gear. The interrupter gear is rotatable 124/32 and interrupts for a short period of time the operation of the control device so that the drive mechanism [56] References Cited ceases to operate, resulting in the stopping of the 0s- UN STATES PATENTS cillation of the throwing arm.

918,432 4/1909 Fulford 124/9 9 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures I2 Z2 52' Y Lu C1 1 9s #60 I z 7 W //a 1 1.7 lZZ 7 74 14 i 40 i w 68 j I M I W *4 M fi 72, A t;

4 z-l1 oz 2 1 Q 74 l 7' so at 2 PATENTEDJUL 2 W 31821; 945

SHEEI 1 OF 3 I V ENT 3 I HARRY c was N? BY A) I [I Q ATTORNEY PATENTEDJUL' 2 m4 131821.945

SHEET 2 OF 3 INVENTOR I HARRY CLARK FOSTER ATTORNEY 'PATENI-EDJUL 2 m4 sum 3 OF 3 INVENTORY HARRY CLARK FOSTER v BY M) ATTORNEY TARGET TIIROWING DEVICE HAVING AUTOMATICALLY VARYING TARGET THROWING ANGLES This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 57,206, filed July 22, 1970, now abandoned.

This invention pertains to target traps of the general type used to launch targets such as clay pigeons, and more specifically to power driven traps having a launch angle-varying mechanism. This invention, more specifically, is an improvement of a trap of the type shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 2,666,424, issued Jan. 19, 1954, and the disclosure thereof is specifically incorporated herein by reference.

The trap disclosed in my above-noted U.S. Pat. No. 2,666,424 was designed to launch or throw targets at a variety of different angles which were intended to be unpredictable by a shooter, thereby severely testing the skill of the shooter. It has been discovered, however, that certain shooters had studied the delay and rhythm of the trap sufficiently to be able to predict the approximate direction of successive target launchings to a greater degree than could be expected by mere chance. This ability thus gave them an advantage over othe shooters who were less skillful in this respect, which advantage was not based on their shooting ability alone. The Amatuer Trapshooting Association has thus ruled that all traps used in registered shoots must be equipped with an interrupting device to prevent shooters from predicting the direction of successive launches.

This invention is intended to nullify the ability of a shooter to predict the launch angle by studying the rhythm of the trap, by providing a mechanism which randomly interrupts the oscillation of the target launching arm support so that successive launches are not the result of any predictable movement of the launching arm support. The ability of the device of this invention to interrupt the launching arm support oscillation is accomplished by a surprisingly simple mechanical modification of the trap disclosed in U.S. PatnNo. 2,666,424 which does not harmfully affect the operation or durability of the trap.

The trap employs a pawl which selectively engages one of two driving dies, engagement of the pawl with one of the discs causing the trap to be cocked, and engagement of the pawl with the other of the discs causing the cocked throwing arm and its support to oscillate, thus continuously changing the angle of the next launch. The trap further employs an interrupter which is operative to selectively move the pawl out of engagement with this last mentioned disc to stop oscillation of the launch arm support, the interrupter being operative at varying intervals. Thus a given launch sequence may include no interruption of oscillation, or may include an interruption having a duration which is unpredictable in length and which occurs at an unpredictable time.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a trap for launching targets at a number of different angles which are not predictable by a shooter who has studied previous target launches by the trap.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a trap of the character described having a mechanism for oscillating the launching arm support of the trap after cocking the launching arm thereon, and further having an interrupter mechanism operable to stop the oscillation fora variable timed period.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a trap of the character described wherein the interrupter mechanism may operate or may be prevented from operating in any given launch cycle thereby making previous launch observations no critereon for predicting the angle at which a subsequent launch will be made.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the trap of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the trap taken along line 22 of FIG. 1 with parts broken away for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2 but at a lower level with parts removed for clarity, and showing the position of the various parts as they appear when the launch arm support is oscillating; I

FIG. 4 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 3, but showing the interrupter as it acts to stop oscillation of the launching arm support;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 but showing the interrupter as it passes the pawl without interrupting the oscillation of the launch arm support;

FIG. 6 is a plan view partly in cross section taken along line 66 of FIG. 1, showing the target carrier or launching arm in 'a cocked position and the release mechanism on the target carrier or launching arm support; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the electrical control system for the trap of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the trap has a base 2 on the rear end of which is mounted an electric motor 4. A

gear housing 6, which encloses the entire gear mechanism, is attached to the base 2 by means of a gear housing support 8. On frame 10, which is journalled for oscillatory movement about a vertical axis on the forward portion of the housing 6, there is mounted a carrier arm support 12. A carrier arm 14 is mounted on a shaft 15 which is journalled in the carrier arm support 12. The target carrier or throwing arm 16 is mounted on the carrier arm 14 by means of bolts 18 and 20, the latter of which is threaded onto the upper end of the carrier shaft 15. The carrier shaft 15 is keyed to the carrier arm l4.to prevent any rotary movement of the carrier arm 14 about the shaft 15. The carrier shaft 15 is connected to a main shaft 22, having a vertical axis, by means of a universal joint (not shown) so that elevation of the target carrier can be adjusted.

The main shaft 22 extends through the bottom of the frame 10 and at the bottom end of the main shaft 22 there is mounted a crank 24. A connecting member 26 is movably connected at one end to the crank 24, with the other end of the connecting member 26 being secured to one end of a main spring 28. The other end of the mainspring 28 is secured to a plug 30 carrying an adjusting screw 32, having a T-shaped head. The adjusting screw 32 can be turned to vary the tension in the spring 28. The main shaft 22 at its upper end is journaled in a sleeve 34 having shaft bearings 36 fixed to the sleeve 34 and sleeve bearing 38 fixed to the housing 6, the sleeve 34 being keyed to the frame 10 (see FIG. 2). The frame 10 is therefore mounted for oscillation on the housing 6. The frame 10 and support 12 are joined by means of trunnion bearings 40. The trunnions I 40 thus permit the support 12 to be moved with respect to the frame so as to adjust the angle of the carrier shaft 15 with respect to the main shaft 22.

An internally threaded adjustment member 42 is fastened at one end to the carrier arm support 12 and to the frame 10 at the other end by means of pins 44 and adjustment screws 46 and 48 respectively. A spring 50 is stretched between the frame 10 and the carrier arm support 12 and fastened at its ends by the pins 44. The spring 50 rests in a notch in the member 42 and prevents it from turning except when an adjustment in elevation of the carrier arm is to be made by turning the member 42, at which time the spring 50 is readily snapped out of the notch.

A worm shaft 52 (see FIG. 2) is journaled in the gear housing 6 and is coupled to the motor 4 by means of a flexible coupling 54. The worm shaft 52 engages .a worm gear 56. A sun gear 58, having a sleeve extension to which the worm gear 56 is keyed, has internal bearings with which it is journaled upon an angle-changing disc shaft 60. Angle-changing disc 62 (FIG. 1) is keyed to a ring gear disc 64 and to the angle-changing disc shaft 60. The sun gear 58 has a bearing upon which is journaled a driving gear disc 66 having a hub on which is mounted the driving gear 68. The edge of the driving gear disc 66 is provided with a plurality of notches 70 unevenly spaced about its periphery. For example, one notch may be separated 1 10 from a first notch to one side, and 140 form a second notch to the other side.

The driving gear disc 66 carries three studs or posts 72 on each of which is mounted a planet gear 74 which turns on a planet gear bearing 76. The planet gears 74 engage an internal ring gear 78 which is fixed to the ring gear disc 64, the latter of which is provided with circumferentially spaced teeth or serrations 80. The ring gear disc 64 is keyed to the hub 82 the anglechanging disc 62 and to the angle-changing disc shaft 60, as noted above. The hub 82 is journaled in a top closure plate 84 of the gear housing 6. A control pawl 86 is fixed to a shaft 88 which is journaled in the gear housing 6. The control pawl 86 has a first pawl tip '90 which is adapted to engage the notches 70 in the driving gear disc 66, and a second pawl tipv92 adapted to engage the teeth 80 of the ring gear disc 64, The control pawl 86 is so constructed that either pawl tip 90 may engage notches 70, or pawl tip 92 may engage teeth 80, but so that both tips 90 and 92 are never simultaneously in such engagement. It will be noted, however, that both tips 90 and 92 can be simultaneously out of such engagement, as will be further explained hereinafter. A pawl operating lever (not shown) is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 88. A control operating spring 94 is a compression spring bearing between the housing 6 and the pawl tip 90 tending to force the latter at all times into engagement with the notches 70. A control solenoid 96 (see FIG. 7), which is mounted on the gear housing support 8, is operative, when activated, to act upon the pawl operating lever to withdraw the tip 90 from engagement with the notches 70 and engage the tip 92 with teeth 80.

A plurality of auxliary planet gears 98 are secured to and rotate with the planet gears 74. The auxiliary planet gears 98 each has a toothed exterior which is eccentric with respect to the axis about which they rotate, each gear 98 having an axial plane of maximum eccentricity. Each gear 98 is oriented so that the axes of the axial planes of maximum eccentricity are at all times parallel to each other, as is apparent from FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5. The teeth of the auxiliary eccentric planet gears 98 mesh with an internal interrupting ring gear 100 having a radially enlarged protuberance 102 on the exterior thereof. Rotation of the gears 98, due to the eccentricity of their toothed exteriors, cause the interrupting gear 100 to rotate and oscillate with respect to the axis of the shaft 60. FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 illustrate different relative positions that the interrupting gear 100 can assume as the auxiliary planet gears 98 rotate. FIG. 4 shows the operation of the interrupting gear 100 as it acts to bring the protuberance 102 into contact with the pawl tip thereby moving the latter out of engagement with the notch 70. It is noted that the pawl tip 92 is not sufficiently moved to bring it into engagement with the teeth 80. FIGS. 2, 3 and and 5 show various other positions of the interrupting gear wherein it is not operative to disengage the pawl tip 90 from the notch 70. It is noted that, while eccentric planet gears cooperating with the interrupting gear are preferred to lift the pawl tip 90 out of engagement with the notch 70, other mechanisms, such as non-eccentric planet gears associated with an interrupting gear could be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, while three eccentric planet gears are preferred, othe numbers of such gears may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention. When three auxiliary planet gears are used, the number of teeth on the planet gears and the number of teeth on the interrupting ring gear must all be divisible by three in order that the axes of maximum eccentricity on the planet gears will at all times during rotation remain parallel.

An angle-changing link 104 is attached at one end to a frame 10 (see FIG. 1), and at the other end carries a windage-adjusting hub 106 having an eccentric hole in which an adjusting screw 108 is journaled. The angle-changing disc 62 includes a number of spaced holes into which the screw 108 can be threaded. By changing the screw 108 from one hole to another, the eccentricity through which the link 104 operates can be changed. More specific details of the angle changing mechanism of the trap are disclosed in my above-noted US. Pat. No. 2,666,424.

A cocking gear 110, which is mounted for rotary movement about'the main shaft 22 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), is keyed to a cocking ratchet 112. A cocking pawl 114 is mounted for movement about a pivot 116 on a cocking pawl arm 118 which is keyed to the main shaft 22. A cocking pawl compression spring 120 bearing between the cocking pawl arm 118 and the pawl 114 tends to force the latter into engagement with the cocking ratchet 112. The bottom part of sleeve 38 is formed as a cam 122 which serves to hold the pawl 114 out of engagement with the ratchet 112 when the target carrier or launching arm is in its cocked position.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a sear 124 is provided with a roller 126 and is hinged to a bar 128 by means of a pin 130. The bar 128 is mounted for movement about a pivot 132 on the carrier arm support 12 for a short distance permitted by a slot 134 in the carrier arm support 12. In the cocked position, the trigger 136 bears against the roller 126 holding the sear 124 in position against an extension of the carrier arm 14, the trigger 136 being mounted for movement about a pivot 138 on the carrier arm support 12. A tension spring 140 is fastened at one end to a trigger spring arm 142 and at the other end to the sear bar 128 thus tending to hold the trigger end 144 in contact with the roller 126. A trigger operating arm 146, when pushed by a release solenoid 148, which is mounted on the carrier arm support 12, moves the trigger 136 about the pivot 138 causing the trigger end 144 to move out of contact with roller 126. The sear 124 is then free to pivot on the pin 130 to release carrier arm 14 and launch the target. The control switch 150, mounted on the carrier arm support 12, has an arm 152 bearing on the bar 128 so that switch 150 is operated as bar 128 moves to its two positions.

The master switch 154 is mounted on the gear housing support 8 (see FIG. 1). A release switch 156, which is hand-operated and designed to permit momentary electrical connection to fire the trap, is provided with a cord 158 and a plug 160 adapted to fit a receptacle mounted on the gear housing support 8. A power inlet plug 162 is adapted to fit a receptacle mounted in the gear housing support 8. One side of the power supply is connected to the switch 150 and to one side of the motor 4 (see FIG. 7). The other side of the motor 4 is connected to one side of the control switch 150, which is a double pole-double throw switch. The opposite contact of the control switch 150 is connected to one side of the release switch 156 and to the release solenoid 148. The other side of the release switch 156 and the other side of the master switch 154 are connected to the other side of the power supply. The master switch 154 is a double throw switch which when not connecting the power source to the motor, shunts the release switch 156, as illustrated in FIG. 7.

The trap includes a snubber mechanism identical to that disclosed in my aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,666,424. By positioning the target on the target carrier 16, a rod 164 is secured to the carrier arm support 12 by means of a bolt 166 (see FIG. 6). A pivoted target-stop finger 168 is adjustably mounted on the bar 164 for contact with the target. The finger 168 thus serves as a stop for the target on the target carrier 16.

The trap operates in the following manner. The plug 162 is plugged into the trap receptacle after connecting to an electric power line, and the master switch 154 is turned on. The motor 4 is thus started, driving the worm shaft 52, the worm gear 56, and the sun gear 58. When the switch 154 is turned on, the solenoid 96 is also energized causing the pawl tip 92 to engage the teeth 80 and hold the ring gear 78 stationary. With the sun gear 58 rotating and the ring gear 78 held stationary, the planet gears 74 are caused to revolve about the sun gear 58 thus turning the driving gear 68, cocking gear 110, and the cocking ratchet 112. Furthermore, the auxiliary planet gears 98 revolve about the sun gear 58 with the planet gears 74 causing the interrupting gear 100 to rotate and oscillate about the axis of the shaft 22. The crank 24 keyed to the bottom of the main shaft 22 stretches the main spring 28 during such rotation, and the carrier shaft 15, carrier arm 14, and target carrier 16 are rotated until the projection on the arm 14 engages the sear 124. When the sear 124 is thus engaged, the bar 128 moves the arm 152 of the control switch 150 disconnecting the control solenoid 96 from the power source and connecting the release switch 156 and release solenoid 148 to the power circuit. When the control solenoid 96 is cut out of the circuit by the switch 150, the spring 94 acting on the pawl 86, disengages the pawl tip 92 from the teeth 80 of the ring gear 78 thus permitting the ring gear 78 to turn and simultaneously brings the pawl tip 90 toward a position to engage a notch in the driving gear disc 66 to stop movement of the driving gear 68 and ratchet 112 on the cocking gear 119. The pawl tip will thus be moved into a position where it can engage a notch 70 unless the protuberance 102 on the interrupter is in position, such as is shown in FIG. 4, to block such movement.

During the rotation of the main shaft 22 just prior to the time that the projection on the carrier arm 14 engages the sear 124, the crank 24 keyed to the bottom of the main shaft 22 reaches a point past center and the cocking pawl 114 reaches a position where the cam 122 disengages the pawl 114 from the ratchet 112, and the completion of the cocking stroke bringing the projection on the arm 14 into contact with the sear 124 is accomplished through the action of the main spring 28. The spring is under tension at all times and returns the trigger 136 to its normal position blocking the roller 126, immediately upon release of the switch 156 and prior to completion of the cocking cycle. When the arm 14 contacts the sear 124, the roller 126 moves across the flat end 144 of the trigger 136 and moves the bar 128 to operate the switch and de-energize the solenoid 96. At this point, therefore, the drive gear disc 66 is held stationary by the pawl tip 90 (provided that the protuberance 102 has not prevented this), and the disc 66 also holds the driving gear 68, cocking gear 110, and the ratchet 112 stationary, while the pawl 114 is held out of engagement with the ratchet 112 by the cam member 122.

When the spring 94 operates to move the pawl tip 90 into position to engage a notch 70 on the disc 66, the pawl tip 92 is pushed out of engagement with the teeth 80 on the ring gear disc 64 thereby permitting the latter and the ring gear 78 to turn and be driven by the planet gears 74, whose studs 72 are mounted on the disc 66, and no longer revolve about the shaft 60. It is noted that the disengagement of the pawl tip 92 from the teeth 80 will occur even when the protuberance 102 blocks the pawl tip 90 from engaging a notch 70, however, when the latter occurs, the ring gear 78 will not be driven by the planet gears 74 because the disc 66 will not be locked against rotation itself. At such time when the pawl tip 92 is disengaged from the teeth 80, and the pawl tip 90 is engaging a notch 70, the trap will be cocked and the sun gear 58 through the planet gears 74 will drive the ring gear 78 thus turning the disc 64 and the angle-changing disc 62. Rotation of the anglechanging disc oscillates the frame 10 through action of the angle-changing link 104. The main shaft 22, cocking pawl arm 118, carrier shaft 15, carrier arm support 12 and all parts mounted thereon, including the target carrier 16, oscillate with the frame 10 through a large or small angle depending upon the position of the spread adjusting screw 108. With the trap in the cocked position and the frame 10 oscillating, a target is placed on the target carrier 16 against the stop 168 and the trap is ready for firing. The target is thrown merely by momentarily closing the release switch 156.

As previously noted, the frame 10 will oscillate so long as the pawl tip 90 engages a notch 70 on the disc- 66 to hold the latter against rotational movement. As the planet gears 74 cause the ring gear 78 and the ring gear disc 64 to rotate, the auxiliary planet gears 98 also cause the interrupter ring gear 100 to rotate about the axis of the shaft 60. If during movement of the interrupter ring gear 100, the protuberance 102 thereon is moved into contact with the pawl tip 90, the latter will be lifted out of engagement with the notch 70 and the disc 66 will then be free to rotate. The latter condition is shown in FIG. 4. Variousfriction forces will prevent rotation of gear 78 and disc 64 and cause the interrupter ring gear 100 to reverse its movement so that the protuberance will be moved out of contact with the pawl tip 90 and the spring 94 will move the pawl tip 90 back into position to engage the next notch 70; however, when the protuberance 102 has acted upon the pawl tip 90 to disengage it from a notch 70, the oscillation of the frame 10 will stop because of said friction forces, until the next notch 70 is engaged by the pawl tip 90. In this manner, oscillation of the frame 10 will be interrupted in a random manner so that a shooter cannot determine the rhythm of the trap oscillation based on observation of previous launches. For any given launch, the oscillation of the frame 10 may or may not be interrupted, and if interrupted, the interruption can occur at any time period after the trap is cocked. More than one interruption can occur in any given launch. It is noted that the exact angle at which the target is thrown depends upon the position to which the frame 10 and target carrier 16 have oscillated at the instant the carrier 14 is freed through actuation of the trigger 136.

When the release switch 156 is momentarily closed, the release solenoid 148 is energized pushing on the arm 146 of the trigger 136, further tensioning the spring 140 and moving the trigger end 144 out of contact with the roller 126 on the sear 124. The sear 124 then moves about the hinge pin 130 momentarily out of engagement with the carrier arm 14, leaving the latter free to rotate and throw the target from the target carrier 16 through the action of the main spring 28 rotating the main shaft 22 and the carrier shaft 15.- When the arm 14 leaves the sear 124, the spring 140 causes the bar to move about the pivot 132 for a short distance permitted by the slot 134, which movement permits action of the control switch 150 to connect the control solenoid 96 into the circuit and to cutthe switch 156 and release solenoid 148 out of the circuit. The instant that current to the solenoid 148 is turned off, the tension on the spring 140 operates to move the trigger 136 so that the end 144 thereof, by its cam action on the roller 126, again moves the sear 124 into position for engaging the carrier arm 14. When the solenoid 96 is energized, it pulls the pawl-operating lever thus rotating the shaft 88 and pawl 86 to pull the pawl tip 90 from the notch 70 and cause the pawl tip 92 to engage the teeth 80. The ring gear 78 is thus held stationary and oscillation of the frame 10 is stopped. After the carrier arm 14 has completed its target throwing movement, the trap is ready to be cocked again in the manner previously described or automatically when the pawl 1 14 engages the revolving ratchet 112.

It is apparent that the angle and direction of target launch, which are controlled by the frame oscillation, will be unpredictable by a shooter who has observed previous launches because the interrupter gear will interrupt oscillation of the frame at various times and for various durations. Furthermore, certain launch cycles 6 will include no interruption at all of the frame oscillation. Presently existing traps of the type shown in my US. Pat. No. 2,666,424 can be readily adapted to include the interrupting gear and auxiliary planet gears used to drive the interrupting gear at minimal cost. The combination of eccentricity of the auxiliary planet gears, the odd ratios of gearing, the uneven spacing of the notches, and the normal but often unequally spaced interruptions during firing and cocking all contribute to make the sequence of target launch directions quite random and unpredictable. The interrupter is smoothly operating and imposes minimal wear on the various components of the trap.

Since many changes and variations of the disclosed embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the inventive concept, it is not intended to limit the invention otehrwise that as required by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A target launcher comprising:

a. target launching arm means for launching a target into the air;

b. means connected to said arm means for cocking the latter;

0. sear means engageable with said arm means for re 'leasably retaining said arm in a cocked position;

d. oscillator means connected to said arm for imparting continuous oscillatory movement to said arm means when the latter is in said cocked position;

e. a motor;

f. first means powered by said motor for driving said oscillator means;

g. control means for engaging said first means to cause the latter to drive said oscillator means; and

h. automatic interrupter means powered by said motor and operable for automatically causing temporary disengagement of said control means from said first means during continuous operation of saidmotor so as to temporarily stop oscillation of said arm means while the arm means remains in said cocked position.

2. The target launcher of claim 1, wherein said interrupter means includes a sun gear driven by said motor and a plurality of planet gears driven by said sun gear, and further includes an interrupter ring gear in engagement with and rotatably driven by said planet gears about the axis of said sun gear, said ring gear having protuberance means of limited circumferential extent operative for contacting said control means during rotation of said ring gear and deflecting said control means out of engagement with said first means for a limited time period.

3. The target launcher of claim 2, wherein each of said planet gears has a toothed periphery which is eccentric with respect to the axis thereof, and which toothed periphery meshes with said ring gear to provide means for imparting both orbiting and oscillatory movement to said protuberance means during rotation of said ring gear.

4. A target-throwing trap comprising:

a. a target-throwing arm movable from a cocked po sition through a target-throwing stroke;

b. spring means connected to said arm to move the latter through said target-throwing stroke;

c. cocking means connected to said arm and operable to cock the latter;

d. oscillating means connected to said arm for continuously oscillating the latter to vary the angle and direction at which a target will be launched at any given time;

e. control means for engagement with said oscillating means for causing the latter to oscillate said arm; and

automatic interrupter means for automatically interrupting the operation of said control means, said automatic interrupter means including an interrupter gear, said interrupter gear including means forming a restricted portion thereof for engaging said control means at periodic intervals to disengage said control means from engagement with said oscillating means, and said interupter gear having a plurality of rotatable planetary gear means drivingly connected to said interrupter gear for rotating said interrupter gear.

5. The target trap of claim 4, wherein said planetary gear means includes a pluralty of planetary gears, each of which has an eccentric toothed periphery engaging said interrupter gear to oscillate as well as rotate said interrupter gear.

6. The target trap of claim 5, wherein said planetary gears each have an axial plane of maximum eccentricity, and said planes are parallel at all times during rotation of said planetary gears.

7. The target trap of claim 6, wherein said planetary gears are three in number and each of said planetary gears has a total number of peripheral teeth which number is divisible by three.

8. A target launcher comprising:

a. target launching arm means for launching a target into the air;

b. means connected to said arm means for cocking the latter;

0. sear means engageable with said arm means for releasably retaining said arm in a cocked position; d. oscillator means connected to said arm for imparting oscillatory movement to said arm means when the latter is in said cocked position; e. a motor; f. first means powered by said motor for driving said oscillator means; g. control means for engaging said first means to cause the latter to drive said oscillator means; and h. automatic interrupter means for automatically interrupting the operation of said control means, said automatic interrupter means including an interrupter gear, said interrupter gear including protuberance means of limited circumferential extent for engaging said control means at periodic intervals to disengage said control means from engagement with said first means, said interrupter gear having a plurality of rotatable planetary gear means drivingly connected to said interrupter gear for rotating said interrupter gear, a sun gear, said motor drivingly connected to said sun gear, and said sun gear being drivingly connected to said planetary gear means. I 9. The target launcher of claim 8, wherein each of said planetary gear means includes a plurality of planetary gears each of which has a toothed periphery which is eccentric with respect to its axis, and each of said planetary gears having a toothed periphery which meshes with said ring gear to provide means for imparting both orbiting and oscillatory movements to said protuberance means during rotation of said interrupter gear.

v UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE .5 CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. ,821,945 Dated July 2, 1974 Inventofls) Harry C FOS ter It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that'said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In the Abstracts line 1, please delete "as" and insert In Col, 1, line 25, please delete "othe" and insert --other--;

line 46, please delete "dies" and insert "discs- In Colo 3 line 37, after "82" please insert -of--;

In Col. 4, line 27, please delete "othe" and insert "other";

In Col. 6, last line, after "rotate" please insert --and oscillate--;

In Col. 7, line 27, after "carrier" please insert --arm-;

In Col. 8, line 14, please delete "otehrwise that" and insert "otherwise than";

In Claim 1, line 23, after "arm" please insert --means--;

line 24, after "arm" please insert --reans--;

In Claim 9, line 29, please delete "ring" and insert --interrupter-.

Signed and sealed this 29th day of October 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY PI. GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL UAW? Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A target launcher comprising: a. target launching arm means for launching a target into the air; b. means connected to said arm means for cocking the latter; c. sear means engageable with said arm means for releasably retaining said arm in a cocked position; d. oscillator means connected to said arm for imparting continuous oscillatory movement to said arm means when the latter is in said cocked position; e. a motor; f. first means powered by said motor for driving said oscillator means; g. control means for engaging said first means to cause the latter to drive said oscillator means; and h. automatic interrupter means powered by said motor and operable for automatically causing temporary disengagement of said control means from said first means during continuous operation of said motor so as to temporarily stop oscillation of said arm means while the arm means remains in said cocked position.
 2. The target launcher of claim 1, wherein said interrupter means includes a sun gear driven by said motor and a plurality of planet gears driven by said sun gear, and further includes an interrupter ring gear in engagement with and rotatably driven by said planet gears about the axis of saiD sun gear, said ring gear having protuberance means of limited circumferential extent operative for contacting said control means during rotation of said ring gear and deflecting said control means out of engagement with said first means for a limited time period.
 3. The target launcher of claim 2, wherein each of said planet gears has a toothed periphery which is eccentric with respect to the axis thereof, and which toothed periphery meshes with said ring gear to provide means for imparting both orbiting and oscillatory movement to said protuberance means during rotation of said ring gear.
 4. A target-throwing trap comprising: a. a target-throwing arm movable from a cocked position through a target-throwing stroke; b. spring means connected to said arm to move the latter through said target-throwing stroke; c. cocking means connected to said arm and operable to cock the latter; d. oscillating means connected to said arm for continuously oscillating the latter to vary the angle and direction at which a target will be launched at any given time; e. control means for engagement with said oscillating means for causing the latter to oscillate said arm; and f. automatic interrupter means for automatically interrupting the operation of said control means, said automatic interrupter means including an interrupter gear, said interrupter gear including means forming a restricted portion thereof for engaging said control means at periodic intervals to disengage said control means from engagement with said oscillating means, and said interupter gear having a plurality of rotatable planetary gear means drivingly connected to said interrupter gear for rotating said interrupter gear.
 5. The target trap of claim 4, wherein said planetary gear means includes a pluralty of planetary gears, each of which has an eccentric toothed periphery engaging said interrupter gear to oscillate as well as rotate said interrupter gear.
 6. The target trap of claim 5, wherein said planetary gears each have an axial plane of maximum eccentricity, and said planes are parallel at all times during rotation of said planetary gears.
 7. The target trap of claim 6, wherein said planetary gears are three in number and each of said planetary gears has a total number of peripheral teeth which number is divisible by three.
 8. A target launcher comprising: a. target launching arm means for launching a target into the air; b. means connected to said arm means for cocking the latter; c. sear means engageable with said arm means for releasably retaining said arm in a cocked position; d. oscillator means connected to said arm for imparting oscillatory movement to said arm means when the latter is in said cocked position; e. a motor; f. first means powered by said motor for driving said oscillator means; g. control means for engaging said first means to cause the latter to drive said oscillator means; and h. automatic interrupter means for automatically interrupting the operation of said control means, said automatic interrupter means including an interrupter gear, said interrupter gear including protuberance means of limited circumferential extent for engaging said control means at periodic intervals to disengage said control means from engagement with said first means, said interrupter gear having a plurality of rotatable planetary gear means drivingly connected to said interrupter gear for rotating said interrupter gear, a sun gear, said motor drivingly connected to said sun gear, and said sun gear being drivingly connected to said planetary gear means.
 9. The target launcher of claim 8, wherein each of said planetary gear means includes a plurality of planetary gears each of which has a toothed periphery which is eccentric with respect to its axis, and each of said planetary gears having a toothed periphery which meshes with said ring gear to providE means for imparting both orbiting and oscillatory movements to said protuberance means during rotation of said interrupter gear. 